Of course the 1st movie that came to mind was "Human Centipede".... BUTT that's not really a medical drama.

Then I was like what about "Scrubs".... nah thats basically a comedy but getting warmer.

I got serious and thought about "The Elephant Man" and I really was tramatized by that movie and did not want to revisit that story. ALthough, really well done, it was horibly depressing and scared the hell out of me as a kid.

So, I then came to the conclusion that this weeks contest entry for best Medical Drama needed to be about MASH !

What does MASH stand for?

Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

What was MASH about?

MASH was a medical drama that I watched as a kid. None of my other friends watched it and my parents were surprised that I was so into it.

There were 11 seasons and the 1st pilot episode ran in 1972. Nineteen fucking seventy two!!! It ended in 1983.

It was series about the experiences of the Doctors stationed in Korea during the Korean War in the Mobil Army Surgical Hospital. Most of these Doctors were Pacifist however they were also Soldiers.

Here's the main cast, although there were many guest appearances and other characters and replacements throughout the series.

Before I get into a breakdown of the main cast please take a watch to the opening theme song. We recently had a contest about favorite Musical Theme Songs and this one is on my list as well:

This was the opening version for every episode

I always loved watching those ladies running in their uniforms. Later in life I would again revist my joy of watching women running during Bay Watch.

This is the full song:

Some Random interesting facts about the theme song "Suicide is Painless" here MASH Song Facts

Lyrics from Song Meanings.com

*Through early morning fog I see
Visions of the things to be
The pains that are withheld for me
I realize and I can see

That suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say

Suicide is painless (suicide)
It brings on many changes (changes)
And I can take or leave it if I please

The sword of time will pierce our skins
It doesn't hurt when it begins
But as it works its way on in
The pain grows stronger
Watch it grin

Suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

A brave man once requested me
To answer questions that are key
Is it to be or not to be
And I replied oh why ask me?

Suicide is painless
It brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it if I please

And you can do the same thing if you please*

Now on to the cast:

The main Character was Hawkeye played by Alan Alda. His main Sidekick was Trapper. They are both excellent Doctors and deal with the horrors of war with humor and antics. They are pictured below:

Hawkeye has a tricky attraction to "Hot Lips", seen below

She plays hard to get, but really likes Hawkeye.

Then there's Frank Burns the Lead Surgeon and Rule Stickler. Ultimately he becomes the brunt of most jokes, and is ruthlussly antagonized by Hawkeye and his cronies however at the end of the day he does have the respect of his fellow Doctors. Here he is:

And here's 3 other supporting actors that are worthy of mentioning:

"Radar", the Company Clerk who was in charge of Radio Communications. A small feeble man that is often portrayed as scared and weak but steps up when he really needs to. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Seen below:

Then there is "Klinger", the units Orderly that wanted out of the Army so much that he frequently disobeyed the rules, especialy by not dressing in proper Military Uniform. He was famous for being a cross dresser. These day he would get a promotion , probably to General in this Woke environment. Anyway, here are some hilarious outfits he's worn:

So HOTTT

And lets wrap this up with the feel good Chaplin, good ole Father John Mulcahy. He helps Each character through their struggles in the brytal environment of the Korean War:

This is not a complete overview of all the cast members but this should be enough to give you an idea of all the great scenarios and interactions these personalities can have throughout each episode.

Overall, MASH is a commentary on War, both externernal and more specifically internal and how each personality deals with the stress of difficult situations.

Overall, Humor is really the only way to deal with the insanity of War. People are people and even in the most stressful of situations, they find common ground through humor and even if there's personality conflicts, they find solace in each other.

MASH really set the stage for many other sitcoms that came after them. I find many similarities between MASH and the Office with the main difference being a war setting and an Office setting. But the character interactions and protagonist siyuations are very simililar.

Although this deals with war and some serious Surgery Situations, it's not very gory.

Have you seen MASH? If not are you interested now?

I highly reccomend this series, I think you will see how far ahead of it's time MASH was and how it went on to influence so many other Sitcoms.

Do you want to make a Medical Drama Review and participate in the contest too? Here's all the details : CINETV CONTEST DETAILS

ALL IMAGES ARE FROM GOOGLE IMAGES

Posted using CineTV